DRDO to develop airship for surveillance | Final design by end of 2014

DRDO to develop airship for surveillance | Final design by end of 2014 ​

Defence scientists from the Aerial Delivery Research and Development Establishment (ADRDE), a DRDO lab located in Agra, have begun the mission to develop India's yet-to-be-named unmanned airship. Deviating from DRDO's previous practice of launching an 'open study' ahead of any new projects, the scientists are taking the 'production realisation' route in their effort to demonstrate the airship technology.

Confirming the project, ADRDE director Dr S C Sati told Express that the lab hopes to finalise the design by the end of 2014. â€œWe started the work eight months back and have drawn inspiration from our earlier Akashdeep aerostat project. The feasibility study for the unmanned airship is over and we are all set to enter the design phase. Specifications of sub-systems are being worked upon now,â€ Sati said.

While Akashdeep was successfully evaluated over the last couple of years, the ADRDE is now working on an advanced version - Nakshatra - said to be having higher payload and longer endurance.

With a 22-m length, seven-metre diameter and weighing around 350 kg, the airship gives the option for both surveillance and tourism. â€œBy developing Akashdeep, we learned the aerodynamics shape optimisation, fabrication technology and integration of payload and systems. Our biggest challenge will be to ensure that the airship streams continuous surveillance inputs even in worst turbulence scenario,â€ Sati said.

DRDO has released a seed money of Rs 19 crore for the technology development of the airship and promises to have its first flight in 2016. Once operational, India would join a select group of nations having developed such capabilities including the US, Germany, France and Japan. â€œThe airship offers flexibility during surveillance missions, even over the sea,â€ Sati added.

Akashdeep aerostat system carry gyro-stabilized electro-optic and COMINT (communication intelligence) system for capturing and analyzing all types of communication in air and also have thermal camera for surveillance at night and in low visibility condition. Various other ELINT (electronic intelligence) and RADAR payloads are also being developed indigenously.

A Radar variant similar to Aerostats fielded by the Indian Air Force, which was imported from Israel, will take time to develop and testing .

ADRDE plans to build a second type of aerostat system known as Nakshatra for up to a height of 4500-5,000 meters and having a range variously reported as 200â€“250 km or 450 km with a payload capacity of 800 kg to 1 tonne and 17,000 cubic metre volume.